The Miseducation of Calleigh Duquense

Chapter 2

Calleigh held on to Tim's hand a little too long and Horatio watched as their attraction permeated through them. He cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips. If he didn't know any better, he could say that these two were dating.

" Calleigh, you know Tim?"Horatio asked . He distinctly remembered Calleigh saying that she had never been to Miami.

" I met him last night, at a club," Calleigh returned. She was embarrassed that her supervisor had to see her weakness for a man she had just met less than twenty four hours ago.

" Alright, but I don't need to tell you how important it is to keep your personal lives away from the lab," Horatio replied with a slight smile. He wasn't going to punish them for a random meeting.

" Understood, Horatio," Calleigh replied as she dropped her head. She felt as if she was back in her younger years and being reprimanded for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Tim smirked at her , finding it amusing that she was taking this personally. Then without notice, all of their cell phones rang simultaneously. It was a call out.

" It begins," Tim said as he glanced at his cell phone. " I'll get Eric and meet you at the scene, H."

" Alright , Speed. Calleigh , you'll be riding with me. Your kit is over on the desk, it should be stocked with everything that you'll need on the scene."

" Ok, Horatio," Calleigh said as she walked over to grab the kit. Her confidence was returning and was ready to take on whatever Miami had to offer.

CD

Driving up to the scene, Calleigh saw as the yellow crime scene tape had already been put up, holding the onlookers at bay. The scene was already crowed with patrol officers and the arrival of the media was adding to the claustrophobia. Calleigh got out of the Hummer and followed Horatio to the spot where the body was lying, instantly noticing the spent shells and the large blood pool.

Horatio stood next to her and greeted the ME.

" Alexx, what do we have?"

" A mess. There are several entrance wounds , starting from the head , and stopping at the torso.I can surmise that cause of death was exsanguination due to projectiles, but I can give you more after post. Also there is signs of a struggle, clothes are torn and there are defensive wounds on her forearms," Alexx reported as she canvassed the body.

" Anything you find, Alexx give it to Speed," Horatio said as he glanced at Calleigh. She had continued to stare at the body. " Calleigh, are you ok?"

" Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I see shell casings, you mind if I go and pick them up?" Calleigh replied as she opened her case. She picked out a pair of latex gloves and snapped them on.

" You might want to look for bullets while you are at it, there are at least four through and throughs," Alexx said as she stood. " By the way, I think you missed me this morning, I'm Alexx Woods, MD."

" Calleigh Duquense, firearms," Calleigh returned as she took the ME's hand.

" Are you any good?" Alexx asked in a light tone.

"We'll just have to see won't we?" Calleigh said with a smile, her southern charm seeping through.

" Alright, Calleigh, are you okay to process this?" Horatio asked as he watched the other part of the team saunter to the scene.

" Sure, I love a challenge."

" Eric and Speed will be here if you need any help. Alexx,..."

Eric? This can't be real, Calleigh thought as she immediately recognized the Latino from the club.

" Page you if I find anything," Alexx finished as she signed the paperwork for the body haulers.

" Right. Good work Alexx," Horatio said as put on his sunglasses and walked back to his Hummer.

Calleigh stared at the duo as they walked up to the scene. Tim had a camera wrapped around his neck and was already gloved. He gave her a smirk as he went about taking pictures. Calleigh couldn't help but feel light headed as she remembered their embrace the previous night. Focus, Calleigh. You are at work now, she thought to herself. She shook it off and began to pick up the spent shell casings and placing them in an evidence envelope. After finishing that task, she got out her mag light and went on a search for the missing bullets.

It took her almost two hours to round up the bullets and when she was finished she stood by as Eric and Tim finished their work. She watched him as he collected evidence carefully, paying attention to the precise way he handled the tools. She didn't hear Eric when he walked up behind her, causing her to drop her kit.

" Hi, Calleigh."

" Don't do that! Never sneak up on a southern woman, you may find yourself with a hand print on your face," Calleigh informed as she bent to pick up the kit.

" Sorry. So we meet again?" Eric asked as he bent to help her.

" We indeed do. So you are the underwater recovery guy Liv talked about?"

" Yeah," Eric returned sheepishly. "She called me and told me to meet her at the club, she had someone she wanted me to meet. I'm in a relationship, so I brought Speed. It seems like you two hit it off pretty good."

" Well, I'm not really looking for anyone right now, but I did have fun," Calleigh said quickly. Instantly, she knew that she had made a huge mistake and she tried to counter it, " I mean I like him, but I just got out of a relationship."

" Speed's not you average guy. He won't do anything to hurt you, if that's what you are afraid of," Eric said as he glanced to Tim. " He's one of a kind, ya know?"

" You two got something going on?" Calleigh asked with a devilish smirk.

" Not on your life! He's just my best friend and he's been going through a little of a rough patch. He was so happy after he met you last night. I haven't seen him like that in a long time."

" Really?"

" Yeah. So what I am asking you do is give him a chance. It might not be as bad as you think it is," Eric finished as Tim walked over.

" You guys finished shooting the breeze, or can we get back to the lab?"

" So, hostile," Calleigh said with a playful smile. She had taken in everything that Eric had said and was giving it consideration. She would definitely give Tim Speedle a try.

CD

" So how was your first day at the lab?" Olivia asked over the phone. Calleigh had just gotten home when she heard the phone ringing. The day had progressed fairly well for her but she was tired.

" Olivia, I just got in, can I call you back?" Calleigh asked as she exhaled andput her bag down.

" Sure , but first you have to tell me about your first day. You meet any new people?"

" Yeah, I met the ME, the underwater recovery guy ,and the trace expert, who just so happens to be the guy I was making out with last night.," Calleigh replied with a heavy tone.

" Oh," Olivia said sheepishly. She had been caught.

" Yeah, oh. Olivia, I said that I didn't want to be hooked up with anyone , and you go and pull this stunt."

" I just wanted to see you happy, Cal. You can't swear off men just because of one sorry excuse for one. You deserve happiness."

Calleigh sighed . She knew her friend was right. After Max, Calleigh didn't put any trust in men. But meeting Tim had drastically altered her view. In one night, he had instilled in her the trust that she had lost.

" I know, Liv,but you could've come to me."

" And have you go ballistic on me? No thanks. So did you and Tim talk any?"

" Yeah we talked. Mainly about the trajectory of the bullets that ended a person's life." Calleigh said with sarcasm.

"Calleigh,..."

" We were at work, Olivia. I didn't think it would be appropriate to discuss a date over the autopsy slab," Calleigh said as she heard the other line click. " Liv, hold on I have another call."

" I'll call you back, Cal. It might be him," Olivia giggled.

" It's probably daddy . Call me later." Calleigh said as she switched over the line. " Hello?"

" Calleigh?"

She knew who it was just by hearing his voice. She felt shudders run through her body as she slipped off her holster.

" Hi, Tim. What can I do for you?"

" Um , you gave me your number last night, and I thought that I would use it. Are you busy?"

" No. Just getting comfortable."

" I can call back..."

" No, it's okay Tim. I'm fine," Calleigh said as she walked into her living room. She sat on her couch and took off her boots, then pulled her legs under her.

" So how did you like your first day?"

" It was great. I've always liked guns so the work was a walk in the park."

" Your joking right?" Tim said surprised. Usually, first timers ran screaming from the lab.

" No, it was actually kind of fun."

" You are weird. I hope that our initial meeting didn't set you at odds. I would've told you what I did for a living , but we were kind of on another topic."

She could hear the sincerity in his voice and it made her heart swell. Never had she met a man who could do this to her.

" I was fine, Tim. A little taken aback, but fine. So what are you doing tonight?" she asked with a slight grin on her face. She was hoping that he would want to go out.

" Nothing. That's actually what I was calling about. I wanted to know if you wanted to go out. If you are not too tired that is."

" I would like that a lot, Tim. Can you give me an hour?"

" Sure," Tim said a little too eagerly. Calleigh picked up on it and smiled. She almost couldn't contain her giggles.

" I'm at 112 South Saunders Blvd. You should see a yellow jeep in the drive."

" See you in an hour, Calleigh."

" I'll be waiting," Calleigh returned as she hung up the phone. Her heart skipped a beat with the thought of being alone with him.

TBC...

A/N: This is truly something new for me, so please forgive me if I start to bore you :)